Still Life With Crows is another Agent Pendergast novel by Preston and Child. This one opens in Kansas where a small town named Medicine Creek has its first murder in several decades. Not only is it a murder but it is one that is rife with speculation due to the curious arrangement of the body in a corn field. Agent Pendergast is curious enough to travel to Kansas and offer his help to the local sheriff, who is dismissive of the help but still is willing to let him poke around. Pendergast ends up hiring a local teenager, who is often considered a delinquent by the sheriff, named Corrie Swanson as chauffeur and assistant. Things quickly start getting interesting though when rumors start flying around Medicine Creek about how the murder may be related to the local legend known as the massacre of the forty-fives. Despite the investigation it escalates when a dog is found mutilated shortly followed by several more murders with no apparent connection. As Pendergast continues his investigation, aided by Corrie, it remains unclear if there is actually a killer at loose, and if so who it is, or if there actually is a curse laid upon the town.
Honestly, this book was every bit as creepy and thrilling as the previous books in the series and yet at the same time I found myself enthralled and drawn right in from the very beginning. The best part of this book is that I found myself genuinely stumped by what was going on, though I will admit that seems to happen pretty frequently with this series. Something I did notice now that I am several books into the series is that there seems to be a general pattern. It is fairly simple in that it starts with some kind of unusual murder or something similar investigated by local law enforcement. Shortly thereafter Pendergast shows up and finds a way to wiggle himself into the investigation often aided by someone with unusual insight into the events in question. As a counterpoint there is often a reporter or journalist who is also investigating. I don’t mind the pattern as there are a lot of ways to vary that and still get an interesting story but it was something I noticed. In this case it was used rather brilliantly to describe a rather curious and unusual set of murders but also a rather interesting small town as well. I found it rather funny to see the reactions of the locals when they first saw Pendergast. The plot is extremely well done and the pacing certainly matches it as it feels a little slower towards the beginning when they are first investigating but once things start coming together the pace definitely picks up. This ended up being a great addition to the Agent Pendergast series and I am certainly enjoying them so far. I am happy to give this book four out of five stars.
A great thriller certain to appeal to readers who already appreciate that genre but it also could appeal to readers who enjoy books with an element of mystery. As a warning this is not anything close to a cozy mystery and neither is the rest of the series. There are some rather graphic and gruesome descriptions sprinkled throughout and some violence towards the end as well. I would caution younger readers to be careful and it should probably not be read by anyone younger than about sixteen. This is technically part of a series but much like many of the other books in the series it can be read without reading the previous ones but reading them will provide a bit more context for certain things. It is a good book though and well worth the read so consider trying it and sharing your thoughts in the comments if you do.